Soft Caramels

For the first post of the session, I'm letting you in on the secret of my most popular candy! Get ready to wow friends and family with your culinary skills!

These caramels are soft and buttery; not too chewy, they melt in your mouth without pulling out fillings. They're crowd-pleasers just plain, but phenomenal when you add pecans and dip the caramel pieces in chocolate!

You can also use this recipe to make caramel for dipping apples (use while the caramel is still hot) or in place of store-bought caramel-squares in a recipe (you'll need a scale to weigh the caramel - use exactly the amount your recipe calls for).

Soft Caramels

Ingredients:

½ lb unsalted butter

1 lb brown sugar

1 cup white Karo syrup

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups chopped pecans (optional)

Directions:

Assemble ingredients.

Line a 9”x13” pan with foil, shiny side down. Heavily butter the foil - really, these babies will stick to the foil if you don't cover every inch (and even then, expect them to stick a little at the edges)! You can also use a spray oil, such as Pam, but I notice the taste of that when I eat the caramel, so I don’t use it.

Get a mug (or other shallow cup) and fill it half way with cold water. Keep it close to where you're working - you'll need it in a little while.

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the rest of the ingredients.

Stir constantly! (If you don't, you'll end up with little scorched pieces in your caramel, and while that won't affect the taste too much - and can be easily disguised if you're adding pecans - it's still not optimal.)

Turn up the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a rolling boil (that's when it still boils even while you're stirring it).

While continuing to stir constantly, boil for about 6-9 minutes (if you’re cooking it on medium-high).  Test it at 6 minutes (and about every minute thereafter until it's done) by dribbling a little caramel in the cold water

When it comes together easily into a slightly firm, tender ball, it is done.

If you just want to use a candy thermometer without testing it in the cold water, your mixture should reach the soft-ball stage, or approximately 240°.

If adding nuts: Remove the caramel from the heat and add the pecans. Stir thoroughly.

Pour the caramel into the prepared pan. Let cool/set for several hours or overnight.

Remove from the pan, invert on a cutting board, and pull off the foil. It is highly likely that some of the foil will stick. Just keep pulling as much as you can to get it off.

If you want plain caramels, cut into small rectangles, and wrap each square in waxed paper.

If you want chocolate dipped caramels, cut the caramels into small squares and dip into chocolate - use tempered chocolate or melt-and-molds for the best results. (If you use chocolate that will need to be refrigerated - like melted chocolate chips - the caramels will be too hard to chew!)

Enjoy by yourself or share with a crowd.

Happy Baking!